When Lander resident Tina Clifford sent a public records request in August to Fremont County seeking more detailed election information than what was already publicly available, she wasn’t sure to whom she should send it, what it would cost or how long it would take.
Opinion
Ms. Clifford’s grandson and my son are part of the same homeschool group and we started talking about her experience requesting records during one of our weekly school days. That conversation prompted this column, because the information about public records requests is insufficient on Fremont County’s website. When Ms. Clifford sent her request to County Clerk Julie Freese she didn’t hear back for over three weeks and emailed her again seeking an update. County Attorney Nathan Maxon returned her email and told her that two employees had thus far spent 18 hours on her request. That time would not cost Ms. Clifford, he wrote, but the remaining work would be billed to her at $70 per hour with an estimated cost of $560. He requested that she let him know if she wanted the remaining work done.
Clifford’s experience is just one of many examples of the arbitrary response times, lack of transparency and sparse instructions on how or where to send a public records request in Wyoming. It’s also why the Public Records Act should be overhauled during next year’s legislative session.
The current Wyoming Public Records Act requires the government to respond promptly showing receipt of the request and to release requested records no later than 30 days after sending the receipt unless good cause exists to extend the time frame. But a court ruling found that government entities may charge a “reasonable fee” for reproducing records — leaving open the possibility that different people could be charged different amounts and that counties within the state could set vastly different fees for the same type of request.
That’s why Rep. Pepper Ottman, R-Riverton, would like to see consistency across the state with specifics on how to submit requests, what can be released and fees that are consistent across the state. She’d also like the law to clearly state who is responsible for handling requests under the Wyoming Public Records Act. Ottman is hopeful reform will be debated in next year’s shortened budget legislative session.
Here are some of Mountain States Policy Center’s ideas to strengthen the Public Records Act:
- Don’t distinguish between requesters. Bad actors exist everywhere and there should be equal treatment for everyone.
- Have a set fee schedule detailed in statute for everyone.
- Process large record requests in installments, and cancel requests if the fee is not paid for the first installment.
- Allow requestors to narrow or refine requests if the time estimate is too long and/or fees are too large.
- Use the federal definition from the National Freedom of Information Coalition research for burdensome requests. The state’s Public Records Ombudsman could then be empowered to hear concerns from a government entity if that definition has been met.
- Provide Wyoming’s Public Records Ombudsman with more authority to assist and mediate disputes.
Some requests can’t be fulfilled by statute, including an individual’s income tax forms, school and medical records and government personnel files, among others. And some requests require a large amount of time to complete and may not be able to be finished within a 30-day time frame. But both government employees and those requesting information should have a clear understanding of their obligations, fees, timing and how the process is supposed to work.
Having easily understood regulations is no guarantee that the government will comply, as evidenced by the thousands of lawsuits against the federal government for not fulfilling FOIA requests. But here in Wyoming, we can do better. Passing an enhanced Public Records Act would build trust in state and local government. In addition, state and local government agencies would do themselves a big favor by proactively posting as much information online as possible. Upfront transparency would mitigate the need for public records requests.
Strengthening the Wyoming Public Records Act should not be a partisan issue. Every resident deserves a government accountable to the people it serves. Legislators should prioritize it in 2026.
Marta Mossburg lives in Riverton, WY. She is a research fellow at Mountain States Policy Center, an independent research organization based in Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming. Online atmountainstatespolicy.org.